Start-Up Business Quiz

Jul 19, 2012 | Know Thyself First, Starting Up

Thinking about starting a small business? Find out if you are ready with this start-up business quiz developed by WomanOwned’s founder.

Starting a business is one of the hardest things most of us will ever do and I think it’s on the same level as raising a family. 

When we consider starting a family, we have role models and we do research (books and classes) and the same strategy for success works in business also.  Since most start-up businesses fail, WomanOwned wants you to think about the realities of starting a business before jumping in to entrepreneurship. Take our quiz, developed by Christina Blenk, the founder of WomanOwned, and see if you are ready for your business dreams!

Results!

Add up the number of points from the answer that you selected for each question. Based on your total, check the summary below to see the WomanOwned.com take on your chance for business survival.

100 – 80 Points

The time is right and you have the makings of an entrepreneur. Most of your expectations are reasonable and you have a healthy understanding of what this process will take. It also sounds like you have support from others – you’ll find this to be very important as you start your venture. Knowing where to turn in a crisis or when it all just seems to be too much will help you stay with it.

60 – 79 Points

There are some areas of business ownership that you need to explore before you get started. I would suggest that you call and interview a few small business owners and ask about how their businesses got off the ground. See if they will answer the hard questions – how long until you could take any money out of the business, how long until you were profitable, what was your biggest surprise? Save some more money to help you through the rough times and work on your family / community support and contacts.

45 – 59 Points

Business ownership is going to be a shock to you and you may not recover, financially or personally. If you still think that you want to give this a try, there are many things you can do to help you get ready. Take a job in a business that interests you and learn by watching what the owner does. How do they lead? How do they live? How long did it take them to get there? Get your personal and financial life in shape – fix your credit, save some money, build your support systems, and get healthy. If you take care of these things, come back here in the future and try this again and see where you score.

44 Points or Less

Business ownership might be a dream, but it is not for you. You don’t have the resources or support to make this happen. If you decide to start something anyway, try a part-time business so that you can retain some regular income along the way. Consider working in small businesses to learn the ropes, but I expect that a job in a larger company will provide you the stability that you need.

Once you are done with this quiz, you need to develop your business plan. The business plan will be the road map that your business will follow to success. You will also have questions about money and funding – we have information about those topics also – see Getting Money for your Business articles.